"We are very pleased that the court is moving so expeditiously," attorney David Thompson, representing the Houston Independent School District, Fort Bend ISD and dozens of others, said Friday. "We think it's a recognition of how important this issue is to every community in the state."

More than two-thirds of Texas districts sued the state in 2011 after lawmakers cut $5.4 billion from public education amid a budget crunch while raising academic standards. In the suit, hundreds of school districts argued that, despite warnings from the Texas Supreme Court over the years about school funding, "the State has fallen back on temporary fixes that ultimately fail to support the increasing expectations Texas has set for a student population that is rapidly growing and disadvantaged."

In response, the suit argued, districts have had to respond "in what amounts to an unconstitutional state property tax."

In addition, the suit also claimed the current system was inefficient and inadequate to fund districts at a constitutional and equitable level.

State District Court Judge John Dietz of Austin ruled in August 2014 that the finance system was unconstitutional, his second such ruling after finding the same in 2013.

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In his ruling, Dietz emphasized inadequate state funding for the growing populations of economically disadvantaged students and English-language learners.

His order came after state lawmakers restored about $3.4 billion of the funding and relaxed some graduation and testing requirements.

Then-Attorney General Greg Abbott, now governor, appealed the ruling directly to the state Supreme Court, which agreed to hear the case in January.

"After nearly four years of successful litigation, the inequities in the current system remain critically excessive," said Wayne Pierce, executive director of the Equity Center, which provided research and testimony for the Texas Taxpayer & Student Fairness Coalition representing the school districts in the suit.

He said the system has long been broken, with many districts underfunded while taxpayers are burdened with property taxes.

"It is not unusual at all for the poorest districts to receive 50, 60,000 dollars less per typical elementary classroom than what the state system routinely makes available in the wealthier districts," added Pierce.

House Public Education Chairman Jimmie Don Aycock, R-Killeen, had promoted school-finance reform this year but withdrew his bill with the session deadline looming.

Many in the legislature said they were hesitant to move forward before a ruling from the Supreme Court. State lawmakers are not set to meet again until January 2017 but could reconvene in a special session.